Wild Kiwi Kitchen

18/10/2026

Black Tea & Rum Fruit Loaf (my version of Welsh Bara Brith) 🤤🤤
Ive never been overly keen on the almondy brandy traditional Christmas cake taste, but this tea time fruit loaf is nothing like that! Instead it has amazing flavors of black tea and rum-soaked dried fruit and warm spices - finished with a drizzle of New Zealand Manuka honey while still hot from the oven🍯 😋
Recipe & method featured on my website rn
👉 wildkiwikitchen.com

17/10/2026

I'm super proud of this little champion. I grew him from a packet of dried tiopablonz Ancho Poblano chilis from Ricco Gourmet Foods | Rotorua + Taupo - so he's technically all the way from Mexico!
Today he's finally big enough to join the rest of the fam in the chili bed 🤓😊
To make sure my new baby settles in perfectly - and to give the rest of the chilis a growing boost - I'm giving the entire bed a heavy feed with the ultimate combo:
Tui Garden & Home
Tui Organic Sheep Pellets dropped straight in the hole and scattered around the rest of the plants to condition the soil and supply organic, slow-release nitrogen
Tui blood & Bone dusted generously to kickstart deep, strong root development for the new plant and encourage heavy flowering on the established ones.
A good tuck in, a deep soak to activate the pellets, and this patch is prepped for a great summer harvest 😍 ⛱️🌶️🌶️

16/10/2026

This sloppy dough focaccia really is ☑️ no knead and ☑️ no fuss 🙌
I made this on the fly to go with a roasted Cauliflower & Black Garlic Soup - both were fab and I don't think I'll ever knead a focaccia again!
🎯 Pro tip: The secret to light bread dough is using Italian 00 flour. It's non sticky and creates a really light crumb that doesn't leave you feeling heavy after eating it 🙌 00 flour is so worth hunting out - try your local specialty foods store if your supermarket doesn't have it (I get mine from Ricco Gourmet Foods | Rotorua + Taupo).
Recipe & method up on my website overnight 👉 wildkiwikitchen.com
Or comment for the link 😍

15/10/2026

14/10/2026

Planting patio citrus 🍊 🍋 😍
My Bears patio lime has done so well the last couple of years that I'm feeling confident enough to add a couple more container citrus. To me, trees like citrus are a long term investment, so the best quality potting mix for container planting is key - fertiliser, airation & saturation are super important for healthy root growth & fruiting (particularly for porous pots like terracotta), as is ongoing & regular fertilising 💛💛
So off with my dog child to Mitre 10 Rotorua where the gardening team helped us 💪 40L bags of Tui Garden & Home premium potting mix (& bonus right now Tui organic sheep pellets only $10 with the potting mix purchase! Winner winner 🐔 dinner 🙌).
** I KNOW I should remove the flowers and let them grow a bit first year in ... but I just CAN'T 😆**

13/10/2026

Home-Grown Mushrooms Tutorial
🎯Part 1: Spore Germination
(No Fancy Tech Required).
Mushrooms aren't cheap to buy, yet can actually be grown at home from other mushrooms plus homegrown taste amazing 🤩 🤎
Sure there's the odd thrills and spills along the way the same as growing anything at home, - but the process is fascinating, reasonable to set up cost-wise, and it's super satisfying to start and harvest your own mushrooms!
The initial spawning and feeding medium is simply achieved with brown rice or popping corn, a few recycled jars with metal lids, paper tape for air exchange, a bit of boiling to sterilize, and patience. Once the spawn has taken, I plan to fruit the mushrooms in cheap reusable plastic pails with a wood fire pellet growing medium (ie: sawdust)
Home grown mushrooms are also a fascinating experimental project for kids (with supervision) as the mushrooms grow super quick once in the fruiting stage.
Save and follow along for Part 2 🤎🤎

11/10/2026

Here's my favorite Guac recipe 🥑😋
👇
2 soft avos mashed
1/2 red onion finely chopped
1 ripe tomato, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon or lime
Ground sea salt and black pepper
Handful cilantro, chopped (optional)
a pinch of chipotle salt or chili powder (optional)
Here I used:
tiopablonz Chipotle Salt for a nice chili bite + Citrus Chili Totopitos corn chips picked up from our local gourmet foods store Ricco Gourmet Foods | Rotorua + Taupo 🙌

08/10/2026

Pork Lard Pastry. Likely the most delicious savory pastry you'll ever eat in your life 😂 🙌
Made using:
Chilled Rotorua water
Libby’s Pork Crack pork lard
Pams economical high grade flour
For recipe & method
👉wildkiwikitchen.com